A family home in rural Grand Forks was lost in a fire Thursday, Sept. 23.
A 911 caller at 8:30 a.m. reported smoke coming from inside the home, built atop a steep hill roughly 15 kilometres up Granby Road. A person and the family dog escaped the blaze without serious injury, Dep. Fire Chief Rich Piché said.
Paramedics assessed the person for smoke-inhalation, later tending to volunteer firefighters, none of whom were hurt.
Piché said the fire started on the second floor of the building, where a candle had been left burning in a room without a working smoke alarm. It is not clear if smoke alarms were working elsewhere in the home when the fire started, he added.
The fire then spread to the ground floor, with flames soon reaching the basement. Firefighters from Grand Forks and Christina Lake had the blaze under control by around 9 a.m., having knocked down a grass fire on three sides of the home.
Standing at the bottom of the home’s driveway, soot covering his face, Piché implored residents to make sure they have working smoke alarms installed in basements, bedrooms and anywhere they might operate tools or store fuel, including work-sheds and garages.
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